Spatial household preferences of decentralized solar photovoltaic and thermal systems

Journal article

Small-scale, residential solar systems have been increasingly recognized as a key sector for future carbon emission reduction in cities. This study investigated customer preferences of solar thermal and photovoltaic systems through a crowdsourced discrete choice experiment and latent class choice modeling targeting Boston, Massachusetts and Atlanta, Georgia. Key motivating factors for adoption in both testbeds are installation cost, environmental benefits, and annual savings. Despite the latent classes’ similarity in their preferences of different system features, all classes present different socioeconomic characteristics across the two testbeds, indicating preference heterogeneity across cities. We also found that both cities have significant early adopters residing in lower-property-value regions, revealing a potential to achieve both carbon emission reduction and community renaissance objectives when combining infrastructure renovation projects with decentralized energy systems installation. This study presents a framework for assessing and understanding the social demand of decentralized energy systems to facilitate their future promotions.

Authors: Ghasemi, R; Li, Y; Lu, Z; Huang, J-C; Mo, W

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Journal: Resources, Conservation and Recycling
• Volume: 185
• Article number: 106487
• Publication date: 2022-06-30
• Acceptance date: 2022-06-20
• DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2022.106487
• EISSN: 1879-0658
• ISSN: 0921-3449
• Language: English
• Keywords: discrete choice experiment; decentralized household energy supply; solar thermal; solar photovoltaic system; user preference heterogeneity; latent class choice modeling